


Miles From Normal

by Tiny_Topaz



Category: Degrassi, Degrassi: Next Class
Genre: F/F, it's fun though, pretty AU, uni fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 14:10:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9388697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiny_Topaz/pseuds/Tiny_Topaz
Summary: When a chance first meeting when moving into their university accommodation doesn't go exactly as one would hope, Grace and Zoe a flung into each others lives.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! as I promised on my tumblr here it is! So this fic is pretty AU. The girls haven't met before and Grace doesn't need the lung transplant. I think that is all that is drastically different but it just turned midnight so I may be forgetting something.  
> This is what I hope will be a life imitates art/art imitates life kind of thing as I am moving to uni in 3 weeks myself and I just wanted to get some of those feelings out so of course I wrote about gracevas. Sorry about my grammar I know it sucks. I tried to make this one took less like a chunk of text but i don't know how it will read with so many spaces. Anyway, enjoy!  
> (ps. i don't hate zasha. i love them. I just love gracevas more. sorry)

Grace stared blankly out the window of the car as it roared down the highway, music blasting in her ears as the scenery around her changed. The importance of the moment wasn’t lost on her, she just lacked the perfect way to express the significance so she kept quiet.

Living with cystic fibrosis was never an easy task but after over 17 years of support and care her mum was finally allowing her to live on her own. When you live with a fatal genetic disease alone time is rare and freedom even more scarce, so Grace had been longing for this moment for most of her life.

Of course, it come with conditions. She had to live in the on campus collage at the university she was about to start at and she had to have a roommate. To Grace these conditions were nothing when they came along with the freedom of no longer being cared for by her mother. Her mother had already sent her new roommate links to more information on CF than most people would ever care to read and had excitedly exclaimed that she thought that the girl was lovely and ‘ _the best roommate you could ever wish for Grace, come on stop making that face’_.

  

Grace felt someone poke her arm, pulling her out of her trance

“Sorry” she said, pulling the earphones out of her ears and looking over at her mum who was smiling at her

“Your excited Grace, I’m your mother I know these things. Its ok to be excited you just have to remember..”

“To do my therapy, take my medicine and come down to the clinic once a month. I know mum” Grace said cutting her mum off, slightly exasperated

“You have been nagging at me about it for months now, I know how to care for myself”

“Plus, your new roommate is going to help. You really did get lucky with her Grace I hope you realise this” her mum smiled to herself

“Yes, ok I realise. Now can we talk about something else, like all the beaches and music gigs I’m going to this summer” Grace smiled

“Uni is going to be so much better than high school. That place was cursed.”

 

___________________________________________

 

The atmosphere in Zoe’s car wasn’t much different, tense and full of unspoken words.

Her new step father had decided to make his own way up with some of Zoe’s stuff that didn’t fit in her small car so it was just her and her mum. After she brought her then girlfriend to her mothers wedding things had been tense between the two, to say the least. Zoe always thought that the day she moved to uni would be a day full of celebrations and happiness, however her expectations where not met. As usual. She was trying very hard to put on a happy face and pretend that she wasn’t hurt that nobody seemed to care that she was moving out and living on her own for the first time but her acting days where long behind her and it was becoming increasingly difficult with each minute passed in silence.

She picked up her phone, trying to ignore the pain she was feeling, and started texting Rasha. She was very thankful that they where able to end on a friendly basis. Rasha was an amazing girlfriend but Zoe needed someone who was able to understand and support all of her, not just the fun loving side. She needed someone who was able to support her when things got dark and Rasha had come to Canada to get away from dark and messy, it wasn;t fair for her. She was however, very good at lightening the mood which is exactly what Zoe needed at that moment. They sent messages back and forth for a little while but the conversation didn’t really pick up so Zoe was again forced to face her mother.

“So..” Zoe started to open conversation, but it appeared to just make her mum angry

“What Zoe?” she snapped, not taking her eyes off the road

“Nothing” her voice trailing off “I was just excited about uni and everything”

“Just don’t make a spectacle of yourself like you have been doing this last year. If you ever want to get back into acting you can’t go around like you have been lately”. Zoe was trying so hard not to be angry but it wasn’t working.

“That’s not my life anymore, Mum. I haven’t acted since I was 15 and I don’t plan to ever go back. That’s why I’m going to uni. Communications is very different to acting” she was very worked up by this point, on the verge of yelling

“and I did not make a spectacle, I was being myself. If you can’t handle my sexuality, then that is your problem so stop trying to take it out on me and let me enjoy myself for once.”

After that the silence resumed for the remainder of the drive.

 

___________________________________________

 

As the car pulled into the accommodation parking lot the smile on Grace’s face grew.

There where young first year students mulling around, chatting to friends or unpacking cars whilst their very worried parents paced backwards and forth. It was still early, however the parking lot was mostly full and the spots not taken by cars had bar fridges and boxes stacked in them.

Grace studied the faces of her future neighbours as her mum drove around looking for a spot. Most looked just as she presumed she did, extremely excited but a little nervous. Some already had ugly hats on with the name of their collage written on the front and some where already crying.

It took some time for them to get a parking spot but they managed to catch someone leaving the disabled spot next to the main walkway, these where the only situations in which Grace was thankful she had a debilitating chronic illness.

Grace tried to skip the awkward conversation that was sure to follow by jumping out of the car and opening the boot, however her mum was faster than she thought and was by her side before the door was fully open.

“Medical equipment first, Grace” her mum said as she saw Grace reaching for her record collection. She slowly brought her hands back to her sides with an over exaggerated sigh and made a face before moving to the back seat of the car where all her medical equipment was stacked. She started organising the various therapy devices into piles that she could carry when an overly perky girl in the accommodation services t-shirt came up to the car.

“Hi! Are you moving in today? Silly question, you obviously are! You need to come with me first and get your key and welcome package! Come on, lets go!” Grace gave her mum a look before following the girl to the stand set up in front of the main apartment tower.

“Ok so you are in this building here!” the girl gestured to the large apartment complex behind her

“And, as I’m sure you know you have a roommate. Or apartment mate? Because you got a two bedroom.” The girl looked genuinely confused. Grace wondered how she had managed to get through however many years of university she had completed

“Anyway, your roommate is already here. She got her key not long ago so you should meet her as you start moving your stuff in. Here is your welcome package. It has all the important items. A water bottle, rape whistle, key chain for your new key and of course your collage hat. Wear it with pride. Welcome to University!” Grace was just thankful that the girl had stopped talking, she was worried that if she continued she would have passed out.

 

 

___________________________________________

 

“Zoe Rivas, stop storming away from me right now” Zoe’s mum yelled after her. She was walking away from the car as fast as she could with her arms full of her entire wardrobe of clothing. She didn’t even know what she had done this time.

One factor that Zoe had not taken into consideration when loading over 50 items of clothing into her arms was how difficult it would be to both walk, especially at the increased speed needed to get away from her mother, and see where she was going. She had already done the trip a couple of times so she presumed she was somewhere near the main path into the residences.

She started looking around trying to pinpoint exactly where she was when she felt herself collide straight into something at full speed. She knew it wasn’t a wall or a pole because it had fallen over under her weight and was pinned underneath her, and it wasn’t a bush because it wasn’t prickly. It felt like an incredibly long time before she realised that her prediction of her being near the main path was more accurate than she though and was in fact sprawled on top of a person.

“Oh my god! I’m so, so sorry” she said, panicked.

A small voice came from under a shirt

“it’s ok but could you just, you know, get off”

“Shit, yeah sorry” Zoe spoke rapidly, trying to remove herself and her massive pile of clothing off the person. Once she was off she was left kneeling next to the girl she had knocked over who hadn’t moved. Zoe was worried that she had hurt the girl but she was unable to tell as the girl had a mess a blue hair covering her face. The girl groaned and lifted the vail of hair off her face with her arm.

Zoe’s first thought when she saw the mystery girl’s face was _fuck_.

Then _oh fuck I just knocked this beautiful girl over in the most populated part of campus._

“um.. yeah, so hi I guess” Zoe stumbled over her words absolutely blown away by this girl. The girl started to stand and Zoe followed suit

“Hi. Do you make a living out of running into strangers or something? You’re pretty good at it” the girl laughed, clearly pleased by her sarcastic joke

“No, it’s just a hobby” Zoe quipped right back

“I’m Zoe by the way” She said, sticking her hand out. The other girl stared at it for a while then grabbed it and gave it a strong shake

“Grace”

“Well it was great to meet you. I hope I will see you.. ohh is that a nebuliser? I have read about those” Zoe said as Grace started to pick up the items strewn around them

“is it broken?” Zoe questioned. She really hoped that it wasn’t, she had read how much the cost. Grace studied the machine for a second checking for any broken parts

“Nope, it’s all good. I’ll see you around Zoe” she said and smiled as she walked towards the building.

Zoe picked up her clothes that where still all over the path and leaned up against the wall. There was no ways to express how she was feeling other than that she was loosing her shit. She looked back towards the car park and noticed a dark haired lady leaning up against a car in the disabled spot laughing to herself. Feeling self conscious that the lady was laughing at her, Zoe started back on her mission to get back to her room.

 

___________________________________________

 

Grace couldn’t stop thinking about the girl how had bowled her over on the way in. Zoe.

On one had Grace was almost certain she was a medical student and she really hated medical students. If she wasn’t a medical student how could she have known what a nebuliser was?

But on the other hand something about the girl drew her right in and made her want to spill every secret she had ever kept.

She set up her nebuliser on her desk, ready for her night time dose when she heard the main door open. There was only 2 people this could be, her mum or her new roommate. After the first meeting she had had with new people that day she was a little nervous, which wasn’t usually a feeling she experienced much. Only during serious CF meetings.

She fixed her hair in the mirror on the door and stepped out of her room and..

Oh shit! Of course it was the girl from earlier, Zoe.


End file.
